Not Larry Sabato has a short story on a Mason-Dixon poll which shows the marriage amendment is favored by Virginians 56-38%. This seems to be consistent with what I have been hearing, although I believe the margin is even more favorable in Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County.

I understand that the Jeanette Rishell campaign may have polled on this question as part of their efforts, and most likely have learned how unpopular her stand on supporting gay “marriage” will be with 50th District voters. What I can’t fathom is why Jeanette Rishell would agree to speak at an anti-marriage amendment rally next weekend. With the press likely present to report on the event, and who will inevitably provide good coverage, this can’t be a smart election strategy.

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As the amendment states, the Commonwealth will be prohibited from “recognizing” a legal status which is “intended” to “approximate” the set of rights, obligations, etc, that attach to marriage. The supporters of the amendment have been unable to define a list of such rights, or how one would determine the “intent” of two people in entering into a series of particular contracts with each other. You can drive a truck through the amendment language. It’s a conservative’s nightmare.

David, my reading of the amendment is “no gay ‘marriage’”, no “civil unions” and no “domestic partnerships”, all which are designed to approximate marriage. If you sign a contract with another person, or execute a power of attorney or other legal instrument, the amendment clearly wouldn’t apply as the purpose of those arrangements clearly is not “marriage”.

No one is going to throw out hundreds of years of common law with this. You’re foisting a red herring here.

No, regardless of the intent of the legislators, which is another discussion, there is no means of determining at what point an aggregation of private contracts would begin to “approximate” marriage, in other words, align with the rights that would be granted by a domestic partnership.

That leaves a huge opening for interested third parties to challenge contracts on the basis of an assumed “intent” to approximate marriage. It’s obvious to me that a couple who cobbles together a set of contracts like that is trying to approximate marriage, and I think that Virginia judges have already indicated that they will see it that way, too.